Is the Toronto area ready for renewed regional governance?

Below is an except from an op-ed I wrote for the Toronto Star’s special edition on innovation.

A recent article in The New York Times praised the former Metro Toronto regional government for laying the groundwork for the city’s current prosperity while helping to prevent the sort of local schisms that have damaged many cities in the U.S.

Although the former Metro government eventually gave way to an amalgamated Toronto, it provided much of the critical infrastructure that is now foundational to the local economy.

Mississauga is currently dealing with a similar scenario, having built to its boundaries. Mayor Bonnie Crombie recently proposed that her city leave the Region of Peel and encouraged its neighbour, Brampton, to do the same.

Though Metro Toronto, and even Peel Region, may have outgrown their usefulness, it is time we give upper tier municipal government a major rethink rather than throwing it out altogether.

Toronto Mayor John Tory has just returned from a trade mission that took him to Silicon Valley and Asia. On the tour, he didn’t just tout his own city, but the larger region stretching to Kitchener-Waterloo. This is the right way to go.